Rat or Mouse Netsuke part of a large collection gathered in the 50's

I recently acquired a large collection (from friends of mine)of Chinese (dolls, Buddha, soapstone carvings) Japanese (Buddha, 1 netsuke, Occ. Japan bowls) and Marshall Island (shells, Penguin Lighter) collectables. I am long time collector absolutely thrilled these items came to my care. The original owners were a school teacher and scientist/diver who was stationed at the Marshall Islands in the late 1950’s. I have hundreds of shells (abalone, cones, marlin spikes) all gathered in the late 1950’s while the US was testing weapons.

Please have a look at the pictures of the carved rat or mouse. I believe it is a Netsuke and it is signed on his bottom. It is with a small yellow stand I thought could be amber. He measures 1.25” and weighs 26 grams. Would like any information and help as to what I have here.

 

Cute! But does it have the 2 holes necessary for attaching a netsuke? I only ask because they are not in your photo and we sometimes get posters who are not familiar.

 

There is one hole through the piece near the foot. I don't see another hole unless super tiny

 

Ah, Then not a netsuke, which always has 2.

 

An okimono then

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okimono

 

I doubt the base is amber........

can u tell with certainty that the carving......is not a resin mold?

 

I am unsure. To me it is very finely detailed

 

yes...their carvings can be intricate ...

the molds, even more so...

I see little holes in his last two toes on the foot not holding his tail....

also...the eyes don't match..

 

Those holes do look typical of resin casts.

 

the curled up rat is a common netsuke form for sure, probably as its one of the zodiac animals. never seen them with any sort of base...'Natural himitoshi' (ie holes) are often formed by limbs, rather than having 2 drilled holes, but the fact it has only one is strange. Isn't that a second hole in his ear? The dodgy eye is probably a crude replacement done at some time as they are often inlaid stone. Rat tails usually also have the banded effect you see here. As to wood or resin I can't tell from the pics but doesn't look good if those really are bubbles on those toes. Hope this helps...

 

from memory this was a common design by Masanao (of Ise), just checked and the signature is a possible match. I believe that the Ise area had somewhat of a commune of carvers and that many netsuke are attributed to the 'school' rather than the one Masanao carver. I'm sure you can confirm by some searching as its a while since I was into netsuke...

 

regarding the base, I suspect it was just something to stop the 'ball' rat rolling around. Katabori netsuke are stand alone 3 dimensional sculptures and dont usually have a base..

 

If you point the mouse down on his nose, it lies flat and will not roll. The mouse then looks like it's rolled up in a ball to hide itself.

 

A couple more pictures and I will put this to rest. I really appreciate everyone's input.

 

I see a resin mold.......

 

agree, no way a wood carver would leave all those rough edges around ears etc and of course those sure look like bubbles...

 

It is really very charming, but I also suspect it is resin.
Resin netsuke and okimono are also sought after, btw, especially beautiful ones like yours. Of course the value wouldn't be as high as for a carved one.

The carving of the toes would usually be very detailed, not left rough in between the toes like in this photo: